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The impetus of the story was the Marriage Fraud Act of 1986, which required that a marriage between a U.S. citizen and a foreign national last for two years before the alien obtained permanent resident, i.e. “green card,” status, according to the 20 Jan 1991 Santa Barbara News Press. Because of widespread marriage fraud, every couple had to jointly apply to the Immigration and Nationalization Service for a green card ninety days before their second anniversary. At that point, the agency would interview the couple separately to determine if the marriage was legitimate. For the sake of the story, Green Card, writer-director Peter Weir sped up the procedure by having the INS intervene early in the marriage between “Bronté” and “Georges,” even though the couple did not apply for a change in Georges’ residential status. Green Card was one of three Australian films concurrently being financed, in whole or in part, by the Australian Film Finance Corporation, the 23 May 1990 Var reported. Investment in the three films was jointly $14.6 million in Australian dollars. The 4 Jun 1990 NYT reported that the total budget for Green Card was $12.5 million.
Director Peter Weir wrote the screenplay for Gérard Depardieu, a French star with a limited knowledge of English who was generally unknown to American film audiences at the time. However, Depardieu was so busy in Europe that Weir delayed the project for a year and directed Dead Poets Society (1989, see entry) in the interim, according to the 4 Jun 1989 editions of both the LAT and NYT.
Principal ...
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The impetus of the story was the Marriage Fraud Act of 1986, which required that a marriage between a U.S. citizen and a foreign national last for two years before the alien obtained permanent resident, i.e. “green card,” status, according to the 20 Jan 1991 Santa Barbara News Press. Because of widespread marriage fraud, every couple had to jointly apply to the Immigration and Nationalization Service for a green card ninety days before their second anniversary. At that point, the agency would interview the couple separately to determine if the marriage was legitimate. For the sake of the story, Green Card, writer-director Peter Weir sped up the procedure by having the INS intervene early in the marriage between “Bronté” and “Georges,” even though the couple did not apply for a change in Georges’ residential status. Green Card was one of three Australian films concurrently being financed, in whole or in part, by the Australian Film Finance Corporation, the 23 May 1990 Var reported. Investment in the three films was jointly $14.6 million in Australian dollars. The 4 Jun 1990 NYT reported that the total budget for Green Card was $12.5 million.
Director Peter Weir wrote the screenplay for Gérard Depardieu, a French star with a limited knowledge of English who was generally unknown to American film audiences at the time. However, Depardieu was so busy in Europe that Weir delayed the project for a year and directed Dead Poets Society (1989, see entry) in the interim, according to the 4 Jun 1989 editions of both the LAT and NYT.
Principal photography took place in New York City from 26 Mar to 11 June 1990, according to studio notes in AMPAS library files. Before production, Weir held “loosely structured” rehearsals to acquaint costars Andie MacDowell and Gérard Depardieu, who was making his debut in a major English-language film. The four-room rooftop apartment, complete with a functioning Victorian greenhouse and full-time gardener, was built on a soundstage in mid-Manhattan. Two outdoor gardens were also designed for the film, one in Central Park’s Conservancy Gardens for a dinner party scene, the other on New York’s Lower East Side in an abandoned lot. Other New York City locations included Federal Plaza on Foley Square, where the couple was married; the Cupping Club restaurant in lower Manhattan’s Soho (south of Houston Street) neighborhood; the American Irish Society; Central Park; and an Upper West Side apartment. Weir also employed street musicians, including a singing group of former homeless people called The Emmaus Group and a fourteen-year-old boy, Larry Wright, who drummed on plastic cans in subways. Wright’s performance was used for the opening credits. The 21 Dec 1990 DV noted that post production took place in Australia.
Despite its poor showing in U.S. theaters, Green Card was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the 27 Feb-6 Mar 1991 Time Out of London, England, noted. End credits contain the following information: "Made with the participation of the Australian Film Finance Corporation Pty Limited"; “The producers wish to thank: The New York City Mayor’s Film Office; The New York State Governor’s Film Office; The Green Guerrillas of New York; The New York City Parks Department; Will Cressler and the American Irish Historical Society for their cooperation in the filming of this motion picture. Special appreciation to John Ptak.” MoreLess

Anton DeVere introduces Bronté Parrish to Georges Faure at New York City’s Afrika Café, and from there the couple go to the courthouse and marry in a civil ceremony. Each has a hidden agenda. Bronté, a horticulturalist for the City Parks Department, wants to move into an apartment building that accepts only married couples, and Georges, a French “composer” whose work visa has expired, needs a “green card” from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that will allow him to legally stay in America. After getting their marriage certificate, they part company, expecting never to see each other again. Bronté convinces the apartment building cooperative, especially the suspicious Mrs. Bird, that as a professional horticulturalist, she is the ideal person to move into the rooftop greenhouse apartment. Her excuse for her husband’s absence is that he is studying music in Africa. Bronté continues working with her boyfriend, Phil, in a group that plants urban gardens in poor neighborhoods, but never lets him come to her apartment. By coincidence, when Bronté, Phil, and other friends go to a restaurant, Georges is their waiter. Seeing Bronté’s discomfort, Georges pretends he has never met her. Later, Bronté is contacted by Mr. Gorsky and Mrs. Sheehan, investigators from the INS, who set up an appointment to interview her and Georges. Hurrying to the restaurant, Bronté learns Georges has been fired, but one of the waiters promises to relay her message to him. Georges arrives at her apartment only minutes before the investigators. Bronté is frightened that the oafish Frenchman, who mistakenly calls her “Betty,” will do or say the wrong thing, because if the INS uncovers a so-called “green card” marriage, it deports ...
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Anton DeVere introduces Bronté Parrish to Georges Faure at New York City’s Afrika Café, and from there the couple go to the courthouse and marry in a civil ceremony. Each has a hidden agenda. Bronté, a horticulturalist for the City Parks Department, wants to move into an apartment building that accepts only married couples, and Georges, a French “composer” whose work visa has expired, needs a “green card” from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that will allow him to legally stay in America. After getting their marriage certificate, they part company, expecting never to see each other again. Bronté convinces the apartment building cooperative, especially the suspicious Mrs. Bird, that as a professional horticulturalist, she is the ideal person to move into the rooftop greenhouse apartment. Her excuse for her husband’s absence is that he is studying music in Africa. Bronté continues working with her boyfriend, Phil, in a group that plants urban gardens in poor neighborhoods, but never lets him come to her apartment. By coincidence, when Bronté, Phil, and other friends go to a restaurant, Georges is their waiter. Seeing Bronté’s discomfort, Georges pretends he has never met her. Later, Bronté is contacted by Mr. Gorsky and Mrs. Sheehan, investigators from the INS, who set up an appointment to interview her and Georges. Hurrying to the restaurant, Bronté learns Georges has been fired, but one of the waiters promises to relay her message to him. Georges arrives at her apartment only minutes before the investigators. Bronté is frightened that the oafish Frenchman, who mistakenly calls her “Betty,” will do or say the wrong thing, because if the INS uncovers a so-called “green card” marriage, it deports the foreigner and charges the American citizen with fraud. Georges puts on a wedding ring, takes off his shoes, and lies down on Bronté’s sofa with a newspaper to prepare for the agents’ arrival. Mrs. Sheehan and Mr. Gorsky ask questions about the couple’s domestic life, and Georges makes up a story about how he met his bride. When Bronté gets a telephone call in another room, Gorsky asks Georges if he can use the bathroom. Georges leads him down a corridor, but does not know which of three closed doors leads to the right room. He covers his unfamiliarity by pretending to show Gorsky the apartment and opening all three. Later, on Friday, Bronté’s lawyer informs her that she and George have another interview at INS on Monday morning, but this time the agents will talk to the couple separately, which means Bronté and the Frenchman will have to learn about each other over the weekend. Bronté reluctantly allows Georges to move into the apartment. They are opposites: Georges smokes cigarettes and drinks strong coffee, while Bronté is a non-smoker who drinks decaffeinated coffee. He eats meat, she is a vegetarian. He is large and gregarious, while she is petite and reserved. Georges agrees to limit smoking to the roof outside the apartment. Over the weekend, as the couple shop at a market, Bronté runs into her friend, Lauren Adler, and introduces Georges as an acquaintance staying at her apartment. Georges invites Lauren to return home with them, so he can prepare a French meal. As the three get on the elevator, Mrs. Bird joins them and complains about INS agents asking questions. Lauren loves the meal Georges prepares, but Bronté refuses to eat because the food is too “buttery.” After Lauren leaves, Georges and Bronté argue, and he accidentally breaks a framed photograph with his outsized gestures. Later, Lauren Adler telephones to invite them to her parents’ home for dinner that evening. She tells Bronté her father wants to donate his garden to her urban garden group, but her mother wants to keep it, so the dinner will provide a chance for Bronté to change Mrs. Adler’s mind. When Bronté hangs up, she berates George for replacing some of her “research plants” with vegetables. She explains that the reason she married him was to have access to the greenhouse. Georges doubts that her urban garden project benefits poor people, because they have other things to worry about. Ordering Georges not to answer the telephone or admit anyone into the apartment, Bronté leaves for the Adlers’ dinner party. It is a small society affair with older guests. When Lauren arrives later, Bronté is shocked to see that she has brought Georges. Lauren introduces him to everyone as a French composer, and after dinner, Mrs. Adler invites Georges to play one of his compositions on the piano. He pounds chords in a cacophony of noise. Lauren is amused by what she takes to be an “experimental” piece, but Mrs. Adler does not approve. However, Georges plays a soft melody and asks Mrs. Adler to translate an accompanying French poem. As she recites Georges’ story about trees and the effect they have on impoverished children, Mrs. Adler is nearly brought to tears. Lauren whispers to Bronté that her mother will probably relinquish her garden, thanks to Georges. Later, at the apartment, Bronté and Georges make lists about each other. Bronté shows him her family albums and identifies people in the photographs. Her father is a writer who named his children after writers, hence her name Bronté. Georges shows her his tattoos, which symbolize parts of his life on the street as he was growing up, and confesses that he was once jailed for stealing a car. He asks Bronté when she has her “period,” and what side of the bed she sleeps on. He writes letters “from Africa,” in which he describes elephants and yearns to return to Bronté, and she writes a journal covering the days he was away. On the roof, using the open sky as a background, they take Polaroid photographs of themselves in ski outfits and bathing suits. Bronté uses the greenhouse to take “jungle” photographs of Georges in Africa. Bronté’s parents arrive unannounced and reach Bronté’s door the same moment as Mrs. Bird, who is still perturbed about government agents and believes Georges is a spy. Bronté introduces Georges to her parents as a handyman, but Mr. Parrish soon realizes Georges has no idea what he is doing. He also sees one of the cheek-to-cheek “ski photographs” of Georges and Bronté. However, Mr. Parrish likes Georges and feels comfortable with him. After her parents leave, Bronté and Georges walk through Central Park, quizzing each other about their vital statistics and everything else they can think of. He explains that he used to play piano in French bars, which is how he met Anton, the man who arranged their marriage. They make up reasons why they fell in love. When they return to the apartment building, Bronté sees her boyfriend Phil outside, joins him without Georges, and hurries him away to a restaurant. Georges enters the apartment alone. Using scissors, he puts together a photographic scrapbook of himself and Bronté documenting their happy times together. Later, when Phil comes home with Bronté, he is drunk, aggressive, and unresponsive to Bronté’s attempt to fend him off. Georges intercedes, identifying himself as Bronté’s husband. Recognizing Georges as the waiter from the restaurant, Phil is suspicious, but Georges throws him out. Angry that her secret has been exposed, Bronté gathers Georges’s possessions and tells him to leave. In the morning, Mrs. Bird finds Georges asleep in the hallway and pounds on Bronté’s door. Bronté lets Georges back in, but they argue until they realize it is 9:00 and their interview at INS is at 10:00. With traffic jammed, they barely make it in time. Gorsky takes Georges to an interrogation room, while Mrs. Sheehan leads Bronté to another. They are individually sworn to tell the truth, under penalty of law. Each speaks well of the other, but when Georges gets an answer wrong, he lets slip that he could not memorize everything. He tells Gorsky he is willing to leave the country voluntarily, but only if Bronté is not punished, because the marriage was his fault. As Bronté and Georges leave the building together, he says nothing about being discovered. They wish each other well, she returns his ring, and they separate. Returning to her apartment, Bronté realizes it feels empty. The doorman delivers an envelope containing Georges’ handwritten sheet music for a song called “Bronté.” She runs to the Afrika Café where they first met and drinks coffee, hoping to see him. He appears outside the window, she runs out, and they embrace. However, Mr. Gorsky is there. Georges explains that he must return to France, but he made a deal with INS that she not be charged or lose her apartment. Placing the wedding rings on each other’s fingers again, they kiss. Bronté promises to rejoin him in Paris, and Gorsky drives Georges away.+−

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